Audio Magazine Reviews

THE HIFI PLUS AWARDS 2018 | ACCESSORY OF THE YEAR

Critical Mass Systems Center Stage V2

Although Critical Mass Systems is best known for its large and heavy rack systems, perhaps its most important product is the CenterStage2, a range of three equipment support feet designed to correct physical impedance mismatching to greatly reduce vibration moving upward from the floor, the reduction of the noise inherent to the materials used to fabricate the foot, and a means to transfer entropy out of the component. To these ends, each CenterStage2 footer represents an ideal combination of damping, elastic modulus, and thin rod speed. The three model are designed to accommodate different sizes and weights of components, although there is a good/better/best performance aspect, too.

The curious thing about the CenterStage2 is that you know when its working because it makes the system sound a lot worse, at first. Until the footers harmonise and begin to correct those impedance mismatches and beyond, the sound of the system goes thin, light, bright, and the soundstage and dynamic range all but collapse. Then, as it begins to settle, the sound undergoes a quick and significant change for the better, and it keeps getting a lot better. We felt that “You notice this change by a shift in your internal dialogue. ‘I’d forgotten just how good that really is!’ (referring to both record and equipment) seems to be the first sign. About an hour later, you find yourself composing a thank-you email to the designers of the components in your system. Although it’s the bass that first comes back, it’s the midrange that seals the deal: the enhanced clarity, the walk-in detail to the soundstage, which seems to not change a thing, all the while being far more enveloping than before. This is no small change, and as the listening progresses, you begin to find this feeling of being immersed in the music.”

12-09-2018 | By Greg Weaver | Issue 100

Critical Mass Systems CenterStage2 Footer: Unparalleled Performers

The new 1.5-inch tall Critical Mass Systems CenterStage2 footer packaged with two different thickness of shims, provided to assure the best possible contact.

I’ve honestly no idea why I was so surprised to hear from Critical Mass Systems’ Joe Laverncik this past July asking if I’d like to audition the “new” CMS CenterStage2 footers. He has shown himself to be unrelenting in his pursuit of performance, so I suspect that it was because it was coming so closely on the heels of the publication of my profound experiences with the radically effective original CenterStage footers just some three months earlier (HERE). I must admit to being both skeptical and somewhat curious to see if these groundbreakingly effective devices could be improved upon—especially in such a short period.

Within weeks, my original thirty CenterStage footers were upgraded to thirty of the new CenterStage2 footers…with one additional consideration; he sent along eight additional new CS2 footers. Originally, the devices had been available in two height profiles, 0.8-inches and 1-inch tall, both at 1.5-inches in diameter. Now, with the superscript 2 iteration, a new 1.5-inch height is also available, all retaining the same 1.5 inch diameter. He also included four of the original 1-inch CS footers for direct comparison.

In Joe’s original communications to me he mentioned that he felt the CS2 to be so effectively improved as to be regard as a new product. In addition, he indicated that the CS2s effectiveness increased as they got taller, which turned out to be a very meaningful differentiation, as you shall soon discover.

In a very simplistic view, the Critical Mass Systems CenterStage2 footers act as a highly sophisticated “drain,” a mechanical diode or sorts, for induced and generated vibration in the components that rest on them, giving that unwanted, corrupting energy a route out of and away from those components, thereby reducing disordered and chaotic resonance within the component itself, and converting and dissipating that energy as heat. Joe claims the reason that components take so long to settle in on these unique feet, and why the system’s sonic signature swings so widely during that period, is related to the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics.

He explains as follows. “The principle is cross-border entropic transfer in reversible thermodynamic systems. Broadly speaking this principle recognizes that electromechanical systems experience internal disorder at the moment they are engaged (turned on). The commonly recognizable sign of entropy is the generation of heat, but there are others.

Dynamic systems can be reversible or irreversible. Human beings, for example, are irreversible biodynamic systems where entropy is retained, and equilibrium is ALWAYS reached. As we age, strange things happen at an accelerating pace. Our vision degrades. We might lose hair. Our joints sustain damage through wear and tear. Our muscles weaken. Eventually disease may set in and, after a time, the system shuts down completely. Even then bio-dynamic systems have residual energy. The energy is exhausted when the components of the system turn to dust. The 2nd Law implies that this is perfectly normal. Entropy accelerates in dynamic systems unless some portion of it can be transferred into another system.

On the other hand, electromechanical systems are reversible. With respect to audio components, a portion of naturally occurring and environmentally induced internal entropic disorder can be transferred into another system. Assuming that an external system (Center Stage, in this case) is specifically designed to facilitate the transfer and the external system is appropriately positioned to facilitate the transfer process, time is required to set the pathway and create a new electromechanical equilibrium point. Once settled in, Center Stage acts like a trash can that takes the “garbage” out to the curb when your system is playing music. There is also a 1st Law component to Center Stage with respect to mitigating noise as vibration moves upward through it (just like your very good Grand Prix racks), but it’s the degree to which they help reduce disorder in the system above them that makes them unique.”

From my ongoing conversations with Joe, the essence of what differentiates the superscript 2 version would seem to come down to both a substantive diminution of the inherent noise of the materials used to fabricate the footers combined with a diminishing of the upward movement of vibrational energy through them. Together with these decreases, Joe also states he has found a way to enhance their entropy, to increase the amount of energy transferred out of the components to the footers; essentially increasing their efficacy as “drains!”

At the time they were installed, my system included my Kronos Sparta turntable, Helena tonearm, and the Air Tight PC-1 MC cartridge, feeding my DSA Phono II phono stage. Digital was rendered by either my own Windows 10 based PC, using either JRiver 24 (64-bit) or Roon 1.5, with Fidelizer v8.2, or my extensively modified McCormack UDP-1, both handing off to my Hegel HD30 DAC. My linestage is the Constellation Audio Inspiration 1.0, and I am using a pair of Constellation Audio 1.0 stereo amplifiers in a vertical biamp configuration to drive my Von Schweikert Audio VR-5 Aktive loudspeakers. Signal cabling is from Stealth Audio, with a Helios phono cable, Śakra V12 single-ended interconnects, and the Dream v14 speaker cables, while all power and the USB cables were flagship products from Audience. Power conditioning is managed with the PS Audio DirectStream P20 Power Plant, an Audience aR12-TSSOX, and 2 Quantum Symphony Pro’s, with the total system investment just eclipsing the $300,000 mark.

My original set of thirty first generation devices included twenty-two of the 0.8-inch units, employed under my source components, DAC, linestage, phonostage, and external music media storage drives, and eight of the 1-inch units, four each under my mono amps. These thirty were initially replaced with the same profile of CenterStage2 footers. By allowing me to duplicate the original installation exactly, I would more effectively be able to judge the degree of improvement, if any, the CS2s deliver over the original CS version.

My listening began mid-day Sunday, Aug 5th, after some three days of reclamation listening following the removal of the original thirty CS footers. Once I had gotten used to the reduced level of performance, sans the remarkable magic wrought by the original CS footers, I was ready to proceed with the duplicate installation of CS2s.

Once installed, and the system back on, I immediately noted a clear loss of extension and control in the lowest regions, a lessening of the overall sweetness and air to treble, a general softening of detail from the upper midrange on up through the top octave, as well as a notable loss of focus and specificity to the staging and imaging. So, with those observations, I set my favorite run-in track to repeat on my music server, set the volume to about 60dB at my listening chair, and walked away for the night.

I had time for some brief listening in the late evenings of Tuesday, Aug 7th, and Wednesday, Aug 8th, days two and three. For both sessions I played music from my music server for about an hour, sampling from my most frequently used demo tracks. I found the system sounding rather dull and dry, surprisingly unengaging in nearly every way on Tuesday night. But it was almost unrecognizable and unlistenable during Wednesday’s session. Bass extension was severely limited and was bloated and ill-defined. Leading edges were softened to the point of smearing, and midrange focus and specificity were diffuse and amorphous. Worst of all, there had been a distinctly cooler shift in timber. I finished up my notes and restarted the run-in track.

I had no time to listen on Thursday, Aug 9th, but by Friday evening, the 10th, I was treated to a little of the old CS magic. For the entire four and a half hours of that listening session, which I shared with a good friend, sampling his LPs as well as mine (this time it was an exclusively analog session), we were transfixed. Bass and midrange bloom and body had returned, as had a large portion of the previously missing sparkle and air above about 3,500Hz. The sound bordered on beguiling and sounded much more engaging and involving than it had in previous weeks. And not by any small margin. We finished our session excited and moved. It had been a highly emotional listening session. After I bid my friend goodnight, I restarted the burn-in track.

I noticed minor performance variations over that Saturday’s listening, on the 11th, but by the evening of Sunday the 12th, all that Friday night magic, and more, was back. I was transfixed during my early evening listening and took a lot of notes.

The most obvious improvements could be distilled into three categories; a substantially lowered noise floor, remarkably improved warmth, with more realistic body, more natural tone and texture, and a vastly enriched, more enveloping and immersive soundstage.

First and foremost, there was a laid-back, relaxed ease to the presentation that just drew me into the music. The overall noise floor had seemed to plummet, even lower than I had recalled with the original CS footers in place. The resultant stillness this afforded, by way of a darker, starker, background, was just intoxicating, adding a power and persuasiveness to everything I played, allowing me to be informed as much by the silence between musical impulses as by the effortless drive and pace of the musical gestalt itself.

Instrumental tone colors, including their textures and verve, had bloomed. There was a newfound effortlessness and neutrality to every aspect of the music I played now, even with my digital rig, which cannot quite match my analog front end in this respect. And this sense of neutrality, of naturalness, of faithfulness, was broad-band, extending from the deepest reaches of the bass to include a newfound shimmer and sparkle in the uppermost octaves. My Von Schweikert Audio VR-55 Aktive’s custom-built Scan-Speak Beryllium tweeters seemed to be even more unrestrained than ever, allowing them to develop that sense of graceful effortlessness, of unfettered extension, replete with the perception of the air of and around instrumental voices that allows them to regenerate that final, compelling measure of attack, decay, and trailing ambiance.

And what a spatial presentation! My initial sensation of three-dimensionality, that enveloping immersiveness bordering on surround-sound that the original CS footers had created so effortlessly, was back, but was even more apparent and unmistakable. The presentation I was hearing from my reference two-channel system was approaching the spatial characteristics rendered by an exceptionally well setup 5.1 multi-channel music surround system!

Over the next two weeks, I honestly didn’t notice any significant relapses or advances from the powerful performance I had first witnessed on that seventh night. Does this mean the CS2s settle more rapidly than their predecessors, that they are more effective overall? I can’t say with absolute certainty, but I suspect those observations to be true.

But now I had another question. What improvements, if any, might I be treated to if I removed the 1-inch models from under my mono amplifiers and replaced them with the 1.5-inch CS2s waiting in the wings, then replaced the 0.8-inch models underneath my linestage and phono stage and with the recently freed 1.0-inch models?

Four of the 1.5-inch (the fourth hidden by the prominent front right unit) CenterStage2 footers in place under one of my mono amplifiers on a separate amplifier stand.

I made that change on Monday night, August 27th, and was somewhat surprised that the change had not caused as great a diminishment in overall performance as had the original reinstallation of the thirty CS2s. After all, I had just disturbed the settled performance of over half (sixteen of thirty) of all the CS2s in play. Perhaps they would take some time to loose the state of equilibrium they had already attained. I’ve no idea, that is just what I speculated. But honestly, I didn’t spend a lot of time listening after that change and having noted my initial impression. I just set my music server to repeat my run-in track and let it play at about 60dB one more time.

By Thursday, August 30th, I was utterly shocked by what I was hearing, and by Saturday, September 1st, I was simply knocked out by the transformation! The most notable developments after this change were much deeper, more powerful, and substantially more defined pitch in the bass, a decisively more accurate tonal shift, and a deepening and tightening of focus of imaging and soundstaging cues, which had become even more expansive, more enveloping, and more accurately sized. By Sunday September 2nd, I was having trouble believing so much change could be wrought by such ostensibly minor changes. It was as if my linestage, mono amps, and sources, even my loudspeakers, had all been replaced by components that were at least two to three times more expensive!

My initial impressions with the direct replacement of all the original CS devices with the same sized CS2 devices was that the CS2s delivered on the order of 25 to 40% improvement. To be honest, that represents a staggeringly large percentage increase. But the improvements wrought by the application of the 1.5-inch tall CS2s are almost indescribable and otherwise unattributable! What they bring to the game in terms of enhanced, articulated bass, more faithful tonal purity, and more enriched and accurate spatial enhancement is beyond my ability to label. They are that good!

To say that the Critical Mass Systems CenterStage2 footers are game changers may be the father of all understatements. In closing my review of the original CenterStage footers, I opined that they should not be considered as optional accessories but were indispensable necessaries! Doubly so, the CenterStage2 footers. They are so remarkable, in fact, that companies as prestigious as Swiss electronics manufacturer Soulution have begun to install them at manufacture as the factory feet on their products, with several other companies planning to follow suit.

The CenterStage2 footers are so significantly better than any other single footer, cone, or isolation device I have experienced over the past 35 years, that comparing them, or trying to equate their effectiveness in any manner, would be to insult the accomplishments attained by the CMS CenterStage2.

While the thirty CS2 devices employed in my installation carried a retail value of $12,640, that still represented an additional investment of only about 4 ¼ percent. Yet, the degree of performance enhancement they rendered in that otherwise remarkable sounding system was staggering! I honestly don’t believe that I could reap this significant a sonic improvement if I were to double the total invested price of my system, maybe even if I were to triple it! They truly are that effective.

These devices represent a near quantum leap forward in their ability to unlock and release the most faithful and accurate voice your equipment can recreate. They allow the purity and clarity of its true voice, a voice that has previously been masked and contaminated by the unaddressed destructive, polluting forces of vibrational energy, thereby setting a ridiculously high benchmark of performance. What Joe Laverncik has achieved with the Critical Mass Systems CenterStage2 footer is to realize the otherwise unfulfilled promise such products have heralded from their inception in 1983 and should be seen as more than merely an order of magnitude of improvement in the performance of the now 35-year-old “footer” product category. No, they aren’t cheap. But they represent the highest degree of value obtainable from any isolation device known to me, and the single most effective way I’ve yet found to release the utmost best from your system, period.

Alan Sircom, Editor Hi-Fi+

Below is the text of a review of Center Stage2 by Alan Sircom, Editor Hi-Fi+, just making its way onto the shelves in the UK. The strength of the review lies in its espousal of everything Center Stage owners have already said that these audio feet bring to their musical experience, including the sense of immersion in the sound field, improved detail and musicality, bass articulation, improved pace rhythm and timing and, most importantly, the feeling that you’re getting the best out of your components and you’re hearing what the recording engineers intended.

Owners of Center Stage have had the jump on industry professionals in terms of experiencing the benefits of CS. But, it’s always gratifying when the professional’s experience the same thing you do.

EQUIPMENT REVIEW

Critical Mass Systems is well known for making some of the finest (and largest) high-end audio equipment support systems money can buy. So, it might come as something of a shock to discover that CMS maven Joe Lavrencik’s best-ever product might just be an inconspicuous vibration-control foot called the Center Stage2.

Joe is being perhaps understandably reticent about discussing the inner workings of the Center Stage2. According to the company’s white paper, Center Stage2 is made by “choosing and sequencing materials that possess the perfect combination of damping, elastic modulus, and thin rod speed to lock in the desired effect.” That effect is, “a catalyst in a complex energy reaction that occurs between your equipment and its environment.” The idea is that kinetic and vibrational energy act in an unregulated and undamped manner inside a product and Center Stage2 can “change the prevailing state of equilibrium in that energy reaction and to permanently hold it in a reduced or damped state.”

According to Lavrencik, “Center Stage2 was designed to exacting specifications using material science and First Law of Thermodynamics principles. It also relies heavily on the Second Law of Thermodynamics to meet its performance objectives. There is no new physics in Center Stage2, we’re simply applying physics in new ways to an audio foot.” Lavrencik focused on three aspects: impedance mismatching to greatly reduce vibration moving upward from the floor, the reduction of the noise inherent to the materials used to fabricate the foot, and a means to transfer entropy out of the component.

What this means in real terms is a black anodised aluminium foot with an almost free-spinning aluminium foot pad on the base, and the top is covered with stiff, black paper-like material. You have three sizes of foot, dependent on the mass of the device and the size of its own foot. You need four feet per device. They are placed on the underside of the device, not on a screw-head or as a footer under the component’s own feet. It works on practically everything except turntables and loudspeakers (but including turntable power supplies).

Here’s where it gets weird: you stick a quartet of Center Stage2 under your source component and… it sounds terrible! Add a set to your preamp, power amp, or integrated amplifier and the sound gets even worse. Your hitherto full, detailed, and dynamic sound is transformed into something thin, muddy, and flat. Next day, it gets a little better, then it gets worse, then better still, then worse again, and so on. Generally, it fills itself in from the bass upwards, with the bottom end being the first to return to prior levels. You’ll get about a week and a bit’s worth of audio mood swings. And it’s at that point the transformation happens and the system blossoms.

You notice this change by a shift in your internal dialogue. “I’d forgotten just how good that really is!” (referring to both record and equipment) seems to be the first sign. About an hour later, you find yourself composing a thank-you email to the designers of the components in your system. Although it’s the bass that first comes back, it’s the midrange that seals the deal; the enhanced clarity, the walk-in detail to the soundstage, which seems to not change a thing, all the while being far more enveloping than before. This is no small change, and as the listening progresses, you begin to find this feeling of being immersed in the music, which truly transforms your listening sessions, and it becomes uppermost in your requirements for a good system. Everything just seems more natural, more real, and more like the recording engineers and the equipment designers had in mind when they got creative. And the Center Stage2 is also one for the Pace, Rhythm, and Timing (PRaT) obsessives, in that a device resting on a set of four Center Stage2 seems to keep time better than ever. But it’s that envelopment that really captivates you and takes your attention. If you were a PRaT obsessive before you put a set of Center Stage2 in situ, you become a sonic envelopment obsessive who likes a bit of rhythm afterward.

I’ve used all kinds of feet and pods and the like before. The best of them seem to align one product to another harmoniously. Center Stage2 is not like that; instead, it erases many of the impediments that hold back a device. In the process, it gives the device resting upon these devices a promotion. Even the best audio devices have hidden strengths the Center Stage2 can unveil.

You can even gauge the magnitude of improvement to be had by the level of initial awfulness of the system sound, and this is also a gauge of equipment quality – things that can never blossom will never have much of a shine knocked off their performance at first, but that’s pretty rare. It’s also self-sealing as the kind of product that is unlikely to resolve enough to show what the Center Stage2 can do usually costs less than four Center Stages, and I doubt anyone is ever going to put a £500 device on £900 worth of Center Stages. Once you get to £5,000 though… Center Stage2 makes a hugely convincing argument.

Unless you are pathologically impatient (or a reviewer/inveterate box-swapper who changes components in a system on an almost hourly basis) there are no downsides. OK, so if the underside of your component is more screw-head than base-plate, then there might be installation issues, and you might find your system might need a spot of speaker repositioning to accommodate the system improvement, but that’s it.

Most audiophiles have a drawer filled with magic cones, domes, pods, and pucks. All of these devices were bought initially claiming a lot, and all tried, praised, used… and removed. The Center Stage2 – I feel – is different. They have staying power. I suspect those who try them will never look back. Instead of being next year’s drawer fodder, the Center Stage2 makes you enjoy your system more and does so for longer. Judging by my reluctance to unpack components in a Center Stage’d system (which, to me, means empty pages and ultimately no job) I’d go so far as to say the Center Stage2 will make the MTBF (Mean Time Before Futzing round looking for a new audio product) stretch out longer. You only change devices when dissatisfaction strikes, and Center Stage2 helps keep that dissatisfaction at bay.

In truth, I’m envious of those who don’t have to put their system into a permanent state of flux because they can gain the most benefit from a set of Critical Mass Systems’ Center Stage2. Let’s not understate their importance… all other things being equal, I’d be happier using a comparatively inexpensive system resting on a quartet of Center Stage2 than I would a more esoteric system just sitting on ‘regular’ equipment supports. Although I’m generally a ‘different paths up the same mountain’ kinda guy, I can’t help thinking that this is the best of the best. If you can take the short-term pain, the long-term gain is more than worth it!

Alan Sircom, Editor Hi-Fi+, Issue 163

Postive Feedback – Brutus Award for Center Stage!

A few weeks ago, a complete signal path of Center Stage feet was delivered to David Robinson, Editor-in-Chief of Positive Feedback Online. David was kind enough to slog through the settling period as many of you have and/or are doing now. We are very pleased to announce that Center Stage received a Brutus Award from David Robinson. The applicable text is shown below and the complete article with an explanation of the Award and the award process is available through the link. (Note: the mention of other CMS products was not edited out because doing so would have reduced the coherence of the article):

But Joe wasn’t done yet! Not too long before Ted Denney arrived here, I hosted a visit from Joe and Joy once more. They, like Ted, were also arriving near the cusp of decision for the Brutus Awards this year, and had another rack system for the PASS Labs Xs 150 Monoblocks and Power Supplies that had been installed. This would take the current Critical Mass Systems Black Diamond amp stands and convert them into a two-level rack system with a QXK Rack Frame.

The new Center Stage Feet from Critical Mass Systems

Additionally, they had a radically new isolation component, the Center Stage that they were very anxious for me to try. Normally, this would have not been a problem, but there were two considerations here:

The Center Stage would require 7-10 days to settle in, since initially it would introduce some chaos to the sound of our system; and,
The days were short!
To cut to the chase, the QXK Racks and Mk. III Filters proved themselves to be exemplary performers, as I noted in my earlier review. Every one of them is clearly of Brutus Award quality, and will receive them.

The Center Stage Feet proved to be a remarkable experience. Joe warned me in advance that the initial experience with them would be…well, unpleasant.

“You aren’t going to like it at first,” said Joe.

And he was right.

First Joe, Joy and I listened for a while to the system, so that they could get a baseline sense of what it sounded like. Once they had that down, we placed a number of these devices, four per component, under all key elements of our reference system. Then we fired things up again, and gave another listen.

Ugh!

It really was horrible! Everything sounded…yes, chaotic. Frequency ranges were strangely disconnected from each other and inorganic, harmonics and tonalities were off, even soundstaging and imaging sounded flummoxed and befusticated.

Wow. I listened for a few minutes, and then we all decided that enough was enough.

“Don’t worry,” Joe told me. “Give it about 10 days, and then you’ll hear it all really begin to come together. It’s go up and down before then…but after then, it will come to amaze you.”

I’ve known Joe for a long time, and have pretty deep experience with his design genius, and so took him at his word.

And you know, he was right again.

The effect of the Center Stage Feet once the system stabilized was to create a serious enveloping effect. It was extraordinary; it was if a two-channel system was shape-changing into a surround system. Greater depth, too. More gob-smacking audio space voyaging!

Interestingly, the effect was further enhanced with the arrival of the Synergistic Research system…better and better still! (Note: SR System installed after CS feet – JL)

And since they did, so will I: The Critical Mass Systems QXK Rack, MXK Spikes, Mk. III Filters, and the Center Stage Feet all receive Brutus Awards in 2017, and “Ye Olde Editor’s Very Highest Recommendation!” with pleasure.

Another review, this time by Greg Weaver in Positive-Feedback Issue 96.

“I’ve been using and experimenting with footers since their very genesis back in the summer of 1983, which saw the introduction of both the Sorbothane™ footed Mission Isoplat and Steve McCormack’s machined aluminum ModSquad TipToes, but the Critical Mass Systems Center Stage is something altogether unique.

Once settled into place in my system, their full realization came at about two weeks of continuous play, and the sonic results were nothing short of staggering. The resultant magnitude of improvement more closely resembled that achieved by a significant upgrading of electronics and the addition of an extremely effective power conditioner, not the slight improvements in midrange clarity or focus one might normally expect to realize with the installation of many other footers offered today.

What I heard with them in place was a paradigm shift in performance; an exceptionally lower noise floor, enhanced pitch definition, especially down into the deepest regions of bass, greater resolution of fine detail, notably more naturalness to timbre and texture, more clarity and focus to midrange voices, and to the air and space around them, all of which have assumed a more haunting degree of space, body, and of honest physicality. The resultant sense of overall immersiveness almost borders on surround sound.

While I expect that the results of each installation may vary to some degree, in my experiences with them, these are the most effective tools available to release the otherwise unrealized power and capabilities of the gear you already own. In my system, they are not optional accessories, they are indispensable necessaries!”

Customer Reviews

Jadis (What’s Best Forum)

Last Sunday, I was in the house of Jack bringing some LPs and during which, to my pleasant surprise, he told me he was gifting me with some CS footers for my electronics. Many thanks, my good friend. I am quite aware of the footers courtesy of this thread, and I have braced myself for the day 1 jitters, so to speak. I keep an open mind and put down some notes as I do the ‘settling in’ process, and on the very first minutes of playing a familiar cut of Brothers Fours Sings Beatles Songs – If I Fell, I immediately noticed a distant, recessed sound stage – like the guys stepped back into a small cave. The sound stage was squashed and truncated and not wide as before. Voices of the 4 ‘brothers’ were anemic.

Day 2: Voices and sound stage now more up front, and the 4 brothers sounded more ‘healthy’. There is some grain in the voices compared to before the footers went into place. Strings are now more fleshed out than day 1, and have some ‘steely’ character.

Day 3: Voices now fleshed out in the speaker plane as it were like pre-footers days! Same volume level though it seems to sound a bit louder and totally healthy. Tonight the voices are smooth, with a little ‘tingle’ even, that was not present in Days 1 and 2. Pinpoint imaging is now evident, with placement of string palpable and rock solid. The 4 brothers are now singing harmoniously with very little grain. I am amazed.

Day 4: In a word, Musical! The slightest grain has disappeared. Voices are round and full-bodied and even the strings have no harshness at all. Sound stage is not just at the plane of the speakers and back, it is at times in front of the plane projecting 3D imaging. I now hear a certain violin at far back center on the cut If I Fell, that I had not heard before. Amazing. At this point the CS has made the overall sound surpass the no CS era (I was on tiptoes/sorbethane feet before). Also I played a cut of Nimbus Mountain Dance for the first time with the footers. Bass was more dynamic and punchy than ever before the CS footers. And piano is sparkingly clear to boot. Wow!

Day 5: Brothers Four voices has now a very deliberate tempo/beat – they are now like serenading a girl. Guitar tones are prominent and very sweet. Fact it, all instruments and their positions are very easy to pinpoint, even with eyes opened. So I decided to play an old favorite, a cut from there original Bob and Ray Throw a Stereo Spectacular (RCA). Well, SHIVER ME TIMBERS! The big band players just filled the whole room with music, and the complexity of the brass instruments all meshed up into one unified, wide and deep, ball of musical air. Monster sound without shrill and the bass was rock solid as I’ve never heard before prior to the CS.

So far, there is no doubt in my mind, and ears, that these CS footers improved the sound of my system. I had told a good friend here that had I upgraded my Magnepan 2.7 to 3.7i, I would have expected such kind of dramatic and radical improvements, and here I am, enjoying such improved sound from the CS footers. Thanks again, Jack, you have made my day, and perhaps, my succeeding days in my audio life.

Cliff

Thanks for the quick shipment on these. I got them today, and have already installed the set on my Soulution 725. I spent a lot of time listening to music yesterday, and then again tonight. It is VERY hard to quantify what effect they had on my sound, but in some ways I feel like I am listening to a different system today. I know the instructions and most people say to wait until 10 days before judging them, but the improvements I hear in the first hour are bigger than what I have had with any other tweak that I have seen. At one point I upgraded all of my power cables, conditioner, and ground system and the 1.0’s have made almost that same amount of performance gain. Complex music like classical is so much clearer it is quite surprising. I had high expectations after everything I read, and this has exceeded those quite a bit. I cannot quite figure out how they work their magic, but they just do work, LOL…

It is just too big of an improvement to seem possible by just adding new feet underneath a preamp. Once I get my amp upgrade done, I’ll get a pair of sets for those, and maybe a DAC set too. I had good holographic imaging before, but just adding the feet made every single instrument and voice now pinpoint accurate. The best analogy I can come up with is that on classical music, it’s like I’m hearing the orchestra from the conductors’ podium rather than 30 rows back. Every single instrument has a voice rather than the music being smeared by acoustic issues. I am an electrical engineer by education, and I cannot quite figure out how the feet are doing this, but I cannot dismiss the fact that they have made a substantial positive impact.

Cheers,
Cliff

Stefan

I have now had the CS 1.5 and the Tall feet installed in my system for 8 days and I have been playing music during that time. The sound have surely improved during that time, but it wasn’t that bad when I first installed the 2 sets either. The sound was somewhat confusing and less clear and detailed at first. From that point I could detect improvements day by day.

Here are some short listening impressions after about 1 week of break-in:

Soundstage: bigger in all dimensions, as well as being more detailed with improved clarity and focus

All these improvements can for me be summarized in greater listening enjoyment! To say that I’m impressed is almost an understatement. I simply wasn’t prepared to get these kind of improvements by installing some new feet. I’m now very curious about what improvements a set of CS 1.5 feet would bring under my power amplifier? When funds allow, I hope this might be my next investment in my audio system.

A big thanks to Joe and yourself for bringing these outstanding feet to the market.

Best regards,Stefan

Damien

OK so I have only just evaluated the feet – I left it until my system was settled enough, realizing that it’s difficult to A-B-A!

Anyhow, I removed the feet from my integrated amp and … yes, you’re right the magic vanished! Space (especially front-to-back), speed of leading edge, ‘real’ tone (as opposed to warmth that swamps the sound), flow, and just damn interest in the music.

I was shocked how pedestrian the system was without the feet (and this is just one set!).

I should also say, that the amp was already sitting on a Grand Prix Audio stand with Synergistic Research Tranquility Bases! I will get back to you, to order more.

I forgot the most striking change – instruments and voices are ‘locked down’ – THERE – as opposed to vaguely over there … if that makes sense!

Thanks Steve

Damien

JimL

Steve,
I’ve been traveling back and forth between Oakland and San Diego since my dear daughter recently gave birth to her first child and my first grandchild.

Needless to say I have not been doing a lot of music listening.
But before the birth I did put feet under the Behold all digital preamp and its power supply and went through the “difficulties” so aptly described by so many.

At about 5 days-after running music through the system for about 8-10 hours a day-things started to come around.
After about a week and even more after 10+ days a wonderful result-again commensurate with what so many have reported.
You are certainly not getting them back.

I just wish I had a better understanding in layman’s terms as to what exactly is going on.

At any rate when the dust has settled a bit more I’ll be putting the feet under the Memory Player and the Dacs (including power supplies) and amp combos driving the subs. I certainly don’t look forward to the break in chaos but now at least know where I’ll end up.

Take care
Jim

JonathanS

Yes, these are very unique footers. Unlike any of the many other footers I have used in the past, these are the first that actually produced more than just a subtle improvement in my system’s musicality. I had originally intended to try the Center Stage feet under my CD transport as a means of improving the digital side of my system but as I feel my best source is my turntable, I elected to first try them on the phono preamp to see if they would add anything. They clearly did.

I did not experience as chaotic a burn-in as others have described; just some lost of soundstage and muddiness the first day and then things started to get better by day 3 and after 7 days the system starting singing unlike ever before. While some of the better footers I have used produce a quiet, deep black background, almost vacuum-like (for lack of a better term), that results in a greater dynamic contrast to the notes produced, these footers seemed to bring a lightness to the background, providing greater air and the ability for greater resolution and the sound to better bloom in this background.

I have been so impressed with the improvement it has made to the analog side of my system that I did not want to remove the footers and try them on a digital component as I originally intended to do out of fear that I might not get back to where I am on the analog side. Needless to say I will soon be ordering another set to further experiment on other components within my system.

Adyc (What’s Best Forum)

I received Centre Stage footers about one month ago. Below are my experiences on these footers.

I first put the CS under DAC. It was a shock. Despite many warnings, I did not expect the sound went that bad. Before the sound was smooth and after installation, the sound was sharp and edgy. I was very worried. I did PM Steve. He assured me it was normal and it will improve. The sound was unlistenable. I did not listen to the system for the next 3 days as I was busy at work and had no time listening after work. After 3 days, I started listening again. The sound was still edgy but not as much as before. I did not think I was accustomed to the sound as I did not listen to the system 3 days. Furthermore, edgy sound is something one can never be accustomed to. Over the next few days, the sound gradually became smoother and started improving. On day 7, the sound was as smooth as before and the sound was glorious. Very energetic and involving. I won’t repeat all the positive attributes that were posted before. But I want to add that CS footers bring you to the recording venue rather than bring the artists to your listening room. True to the name Center Stage, the sound was presented in a close up experience. If one wants a laid back presentation, these footers are not for you. If one wants a relaxed sound, these footers are not for you. These footers will grab your attention all the time and make you enjoy the music.

On day 7, I decided to put another set under my preamp. The sound again went south. This time the sound was not as bad as before. And it went back to the same level with a relatively short time around 4 days. All previous positive attributes were enhanced. And last week, I put another set under the power amp. And as expected, the sound went worse. But it only took 2 days to exceed the previous level. My conclusion in my system is that as one put more sets in the system, the break in time become less. I still have another 3 sets to put under my external crossover boxes and upcoming upsampler. The initial bumpy ride was not nice. But if one can hang in there, the reward is great.

Another observation. I need to move my power amp to a different place. I removed the footers. After inserting the footers back, the sound was worse. But it only took one to two hours to go back to the same level.

Mullard88 (What’s Best Forum)

I listened again to my main system today, and Holy Smokes!! The resolution was simply fantastic! The effect on me was awe striking and mesmerizing. The focus I have listening is so enhanced, and somehow it seems that the music is also focused on me, sucking me in, and I felt like I was in my own world. When “Fever” starts, I had always thought that the orchestra begins, stops, then the solo trumpet answers, stops, then orchestra again. Apparently, the orchestra continuously plays very softly when the solo trumpet enters, the trumpets fades and the orchestra gets louder, then they stop for a moment before the stage is turned over to the finger snappers, double bass player and Elvis. There is more than one finger snapper and they dance around stage center with Elvis. I must have repeated this song for one hour figuring out how it was patched together and amazed at the skill level of the engineers who were able to seamlessly arrange everything together. Each time I repeated the song, I followed a different player or group of players.

Apparently again, this was at least two totally independently recorded sessions that were deconstructed and reconstructed. This level of resolution is totally new in my experience and I am already addicted to this level of resolution. The effect of this resolution is so compelling I can really feel the musicians communicating to me; this feels beyond being in the venue watching them perform. This feels like the other audiences have disappeared and there’s just me and the musicians and I am immersed in the music.

This is the second product that Steve has guided me to that I really love. His credibility with me keeps growing. I will be ordering more of these footers to install on the other components along my chain. If it made this much difference on only the source components, I really want to learn what more can do. I have not listened to the other source components on the main system yet, nor to my bedroom system yet, but what I just heard is convincing enough. I will be very surprised if I will not like the effect on my other source in the main system or bedroom system. For now, I will listen to other recordings on this chain. Incidentally, the source I listened to is an Audio Research CD 7. I will also keep my mind open in case I am underwhelmed when I listen to my other sources.

Microstrip (What’s Best Forum)

Congratulations Joe and Steve on winning the 2017 Brutus Award from Positive Feedback Online – it is great to see the Center Stage footers getting the recognition they deserve. But the Positive Feedback article does not refer one aspect of the footers – they are terribly addictive : even the local UPS man started commenting about the small boxes I am getting from the US and I am going to need a few more …

Some time later

My last shipment of Center Stage footers has been burning-in for almost two weeks; I am now in position to add a few words about their effect in my system.

These last footers allowed me essentially to stabilize my system – if such think is possible. Besides other components, I am mainly currently trying to evaluate what should become my preferred preamplifier – the GAT or the REF40.

When I got the Center Stage footers they went under the GAT – and after sometime the GAT became the preferred, as it got a better feeling of being there and immediacy, that surpassed what I could get from the REF40. However the more recently arrived two sets went under the REF40, one under the power supply, the other under the preamplifier itself.

I used mainly orchestral music for the listening – Russian classic concertos and symphonies, mostly Shostakovich and Prokofiev. I already had some experience with “smaller” acoustic music, I wanted to check the big hall performances. Sometime during the “burn-in” it was not easy to listen – the balance of the orchestra was not adequate for their enjoyment, seeming too “raw” and focused on particular sections. But now the balance is correct, with the addition of more delineated space and presence. Shostakovich 8th density was enhanced since last time I listened to it, and Haitink refined vision of the small detail was better served with the footers. Dynamics had not lost anything – the Aleggro non tropo was as brutal, incisive and melodic as ever, more focused but not smaller, the depth of the stage was exceptionally delineated. The drama and tragedy of the sang solos of 14th were now more alienating, due to the enhanced focusing, but enveloped in the orchestra.

Prokofiev piano concertos allowed me to focus on the main instrument performance – the piano was able to survive in the 2nd with great presence, never being submerged by the attacks orchestra with proper scale. Bass and scale are great.

A quick digression through Ligeti chamber music also confirmed that with both preamplifiers on footers, the choice became difficult again. But I must choose one, one set of Center Stage footers must soon go under the dCS Vivaldi transport …

A side note. I have read that some people reduced listening level after entering the footers in their systems. During burn-in I also did it, as more detail was showing and some harshness and chaos was apparent, and my listening levels (usually not loud) were reduced by a couple of dBs. Fortunately, in order to carry fair comparisons, my system is calibrated and I have quickly reestablished my usual listening levels – I was losing a bit listening at a lower level.

BTW, the shelves I am using are nothing special – just a sandwich of MDF and plywood with a damping component layer. I have been thinking if a more adequate shelve would accelerate burn-in.

Even more time later

My last shipment of CenterStage footers has been burning-in for almost two weeks; I am now in position to add a few words about their effect in my system.

These last footers allowed me essentially to stabilize my system – if such think is possible. Besides other components, I am mainly currently trying to evaluate what should become my preferred preamplifier – the GAT or the REF40.

When I got the CenterStage footers they went under the GAT – and after sometime the GAT became the preferred, as it got a better feeling of being there and immediacy, that surpassed what I could get from the REF40. However the more recently arrived two sets went under the REF40, one under the power supply, the other under the preamplifier itself.

I used mainly orchestral music for the listening – Russian classic concertos and symphonies, mostly Shotakovithc and prokoviev. I already had some experience with “smaller” acoustic music, I wanted to check the big hall performances. Sometime during the “burn-in” it was not easy to listen – the balance of the orchestra was not adequate for their enjoyment, seeming too “raw” and focused on particular sections. But now the balance is correct, with the addition of more delineated space and presence. Shostakovithch 8th density was enhanced since last time I listened to it, and Haitink refined vision of the small detail was better served with the footers. Dynamics had not lost anything – the Aleggro non tropo was as brutal, incisive and melodic as ever, more focused but not smaller, the depth of the stage was exceptionally delineated. The drama and tragedy of the sang solos of 14th were now more alienating, due to the enhanced focusing, but enveloped in the orchestra.

Prokofiev piano concertos allowed me to focus on the main instrument performance – the piano was able to survive in the 2nd with great presence, never being submerged by the attacks orchestra with proper scale. Bass and scale are great.

A quick digression through Ligetti chamber music also confirmed that with both preamplifiers on footers, the choice became difficult again. But I must choose one, one set of Center Stage footers must soon go under the DCS Vivaldi transport …

A side note. I have read that some people reduced listening level after entering the footers in their systems. During burn-in I also did it, as more detail was showing and some harshness and chaos was apparent, and my listening levels (usually not loud) were reduced by a couple of dBs. Fortunately, in order to carry fair comparisons, my system is calibrated and I have quickly reestablished my usual listening levels – I was losing a bit listening at a lower level.

BTW, the shelves I am using are nothing special – just a sandwich of MDF and plywood with a damping component layer. I have been thinking if a more adequate shelve would accelerate burn-in.

Robert Miles

Wow, what can I say about this product? I am not a fan of such things, and was not expecting much if anything from these audio feet. How wrong I was. Highly recommended and I am now a convert!

Michael Cubitt

Having tried quite a few audio feet and other ‘audio tweaking’ products in the past, I am pleasantly surprised how much difference these ‘little feet’ make to my audio system. A remarkable addition and one I can now not do without.

Russ the mobiusman (What’s Best Forum)

Center Stage Footer V1 and V2

Since Labor Day I have been evaluating Center Stage Footers from Pitch Perfect Sound, an improvement on the CMS footers offered by Joe Lavrencik, owner and designerof CMS. Steve Williams is the sales and marketing force behind Pitch Perfect Sound and will be selling these directly to audiophiles, while CMS will handle OEM sales. I used 16 footers under four pieces of electronics. I put four tall footers under my Spectral DMA 300 RS amp and under my DMC 30 SV preamp because the Spectral feet necessitate the increased elevation so that the pieces are resting on the footers. I also placed four short footers under my ARC Ref CD-9 and Lamm LP2.1 phono stage. My system is fairly good with regard to my mix and match of components, overall resolving power, with attention paid to every cable, the quality of the incoming AC and more than 50 years of listening.

Isolation devices are tricky because there are so many on the market with a wide range of impacts. I have no doubt that how people will perceive these Centerstage footers will be somewhat dependent on the sophistication of their listening, especially with regard to the impact of noise floor. It will also be dependent on their previous experience with isolation devices and footers in particular, not to mention any bias they may have due to the wide ranging crazy claims about footers and isolation devices in audio that unfortunately cannot be reproduced and thus somewhat discredit the entire category

Like most people on WBF, I have been playing with DIY vibration mitigation techniques since the early 70’s with progressive, but limited, benefit. In 1976, Steve Mc Cormack who I met at Jonas Miller Sound in LA in 1975, decided he would open an audio business selling one of the first audio footers, Tip Toes, cylindrical pieces of aluminum machined to a point at one end. Unlike the Centerstage footers, it was easy to understand the physics behind Tip Toes, while the mechanism of action of Centerstage footers is a trade secret. There was no doubt that the Tip Toes immediatelyimproved the image of the sound, although the benefit was limited.

Since then I have tried many other footers, sometimes using three and sometimes using four under each piece of equipment. I have spent thousands on Nordost footers and Stillpoints. I even bought a Vibraplane for use under my turntable. With time I removed each of my previous attempts at vibration isolation short of throwing out my vibration isolation racks, which help somewhat although a dismal failure when it comes to acoustic feedback with my turntable due to some floor instability.

During my month plus evaluation of the Centerstage footers my reference system underwent some changes while I am trying to deal with an acoustic feedback problem when playing records. Throughout these system changes I continued my evaluation of the footers. Midway through the test, both Steve and Joe asked that I return the footers to Joe to have them upgraded to a new design (V2) that Joe is convinced is superior and then reinserted them into my system in the same locations. I have continued the footer evaluation throughout these changes.

My system is based on Vivid Audio G3 speakers and a pair of JL F 113 subwoofers from 34 hz down, connected to a Spectral DMA 300 Reference Series Amp, connected to a Spectral DMC 30 SV preamp. To soften the Spectral sound a bit, there is a tube piece in both the digital chain and the analog chain. On the digital front I use an Audio Research Ref CD-9 CD player and the DAC component (an ARC Ref DAC 9) for my digital music server, a highly modified Mac Mini with an outboard linear power supply. On the analog front, I use a Lamm LP2.1 phono preamp, connected to a VPI Aries 3D with a 12” arm with a ZYX Universe Premium installed. There is also a VPI ADS controlling the speed. MIT SHD level interconnect cables are used throughout, MIT HD90Rev 2 biwire speaker wire for the Vivid’s and Analysis Plus Super Sub wire for the subs. Cardas Beyond Clear is used as the interconnect between the VPI tonearm and the Lamm.

I have two dedicated 20 circuits with Shunyata CopperCon modules. The conditioning has been conducted with a Shunyata Triton V2 and during the last week a Audioquest Niagara 7000, plus a Shunyata Typhon.

My listening has included digital, and analog, plus some TV and movie sound track material.

My footer evaluation occurred in two stages with two different sets of footers. The first set, which I will call V1 were very strange because of the way they broke in over 7-10 days. Just in case you missed what I just said, let me repeat it—The sound changed noticeably, sometimes dramatically, each day. The overall change was a progressive movement towards more cohesiveness, with expansion of the sound stage in every direction, especially toward my listening position. The most important change for me, was a dramatic increase in listening involvement. There were even times I came back to listen in the middle of the night when I woke up to pee because the sound was so involving. Almost every morning included a listening session, something I have not done in years.

I must say I was puzzled from the first moment when I first installed the V1 footers when the initial sound was so disjointed and wrong that I listened in disbelief that these footers could make such a negative change. With each day the sound improved with disjointed elements progressively replaced with beautifully dimensioned sound that became more engrossing each day. Of course, the bass was the last to come in, but it did with an abandon of clarity, force and depth, not to mention a firmness of the leading edge..

Just as I finally was getting to a point of V1 stability, Steve said that Joe had made a modification to the footers and wanted mine back for modification. Upon reinserting them a week ago, it was clear that these modified feet V2 were different in initial sound and the nature of the progression of their break-in. These sounded much better when first put in than V1. They also developed cohesion in a more linear quality with acceptable sound on day 3, at least 2-3 days sooner than happened with V1. Day 4 was somewhat of an improvement in bass, but day 5 the soundstage started to blossom with a marked increase in bass, although a bit flubby. Day 6 was quite impressive with regard to believability and tonal quality. The sound stage was beyond the speakers both with regard to speaker boundaries, vertically and horizonatally.

However, it was day 7 that left no doubt about the overall benefit of these footers. The sound detail, cohesion, speed and believable bass were now undeniable, regardless of the sound source. Historically an important guideline for me about the quality of a new product is revealed by how much a single other change impacts the overall sound. The better the new product, the greater the difference in sound throughout the entire spectrum. Put simply, these footers have created essentially the same magnitude of positive change to the overall sound as many very expensive new component substitutions.

At the end of my evaluation I had to remove these footers because Steve needs them back while I wait for my final production models. I chose to remove the footers one by one so I will be able to do the AB-A comparison, since this change will be instantaneous rather than during the progressive changes that occurred on the two insertion processes. I believe that this is the single best evaluation technique for the footers. When I get V3, hopefully everything in my system will be stabilized, including the Niagara 7000 and then I can perform and longer evaluation and see if there is any improvement beyond the 8 day duration of each of listening tests.

Before giving you a step by step assessment of what happened when I removed one set of footers at a time, I want to repeat that an AB-A test is the only true way to evaluate the benefit because it demonstrates the full impact of the footers, rather than the progressive changes upon insertion.

Removal of each set of footers at a time was very obvious in its impact. At each step, the reduction of sound stage and most particular believability most the most noticeable change. I was somewhat surprised that the removal of the footers from my solid state Spectral 300RS amp made the single biggest change, although it is possible that it was because it was the first part of the overall system to be removed, suggesting that one must have these under all of the core electronics. I next removed a set from under my ARC Ref CD-9, a tubed unit, which produced the same qualitative change as I experienced when I removed the footers from the Amp, although with about only 1/3 ot the difference compared to the removal of the amp. The same thing happened when I removed the Lamm phono stage while listening to a record, although the difference was greater than removing footers on the digital leg. I do not know if this is due to the increased resolving power of analog, the higher quality of my analog leg or the more likely, a combination of both. This is not surprising since the main thing I listen for is believability and real life is analog and not a bunch of sample points with algorithms filling the gaps, regardless of sampling rate.

So in the midst of an audio spending spree, my take on the wisdom of spending another $4800 for these footers was simple—-It is all about believability for me. I want to be taken away from my overwhelming daily life as a psychiatrist and addiction specialist. It is the rare system that I have listened to that achieves that. While I thought I had that ability with my system pre-Centerstage, I could not have predicted the magnitude of the benefit of the Centerstage footers on this front. I have no doubt that regardless of the level of sophistication of your system, these footers will push the sound in the direction of increased believability. It is my belief, based on the system improvements I made during my evaluations, from listening for a week since removal of the footers and from listening to high end systems for 55+ years, the better the system, the greater the benefit of these footers.

I have spent much more money many times with only a small amount of benefit these footers provide. My V3 versions are already paid for and I am counting the days till they arrive. Thanks Steve for bringing these to my attention and affording me the opportunity to explore them pre-release. I will post my findings after receiving my production footers and listened for about 3 weeks.

Russ the mobiusman (What’s Best Forum) some weeks later

I am in the process of doing the latest step of an A-B-A-B-A-B with these Center Stage footers, which is another way of saying after being one of the initial field testers for what I have referred to as V1 and then several weeks later V2 (the current production version without the black and white graphics) and now having inserted my final production footers, I can say that I have no doubt about the impact of these footers, even though I do not get aspects of why they work.

I am 68 and have played this audio game since I was 15 and have had some grand systems and a custom built music room, only to going back 13 years ago to my post divorce main system being the CD/radio in 5 year old Maxima and now building a respectable system with Spectral electrons, VPI/ZYX/Lamm analog, ARC digital feed by a highly modified MacMini server, and all going into a pair of Vivid G3’s and a pair of JL F113 subs, all connected with MIT top shelf cabling and speaker wire and some Cardas Beyond Clear on the analog side and evolving AC cords. I have used my systems as hiding places, treatment for my OCD, and, when healthy, a vehicle for happiness.

12 days ago I had cancer surgery and have been home recuperating and watching more TV than I care to admit. BTW, during that time I was not listening to much music because I did not “feel” like it, for whatever reason, but I used my system for the TV audio most of the time and sometimes just the Samsung 65″ SUHD audio section on days that I was not feeling good at all. 7-5 days ago I started inserting my latest set of Center Stage footers back into my system (it was too much for me to install 16 of them on a single day due to my inability to lift some of my equipment. Yesterday I watched a couple of movies on and off axis on my couch, but found myself raising the volume so that I would be more into what was going on and because it just sounded better than it has for the past couple of months without the footers.

By the end of the day I realized that for the past 2 months I had not enjoyed a movie, plain old Fios on-demand on a good 2 channel system, as much as I had yesterday and that clearly the sound got better during the 4 hours of movie watching. I am not surprised by this finding because this is my third go round with Center Stage footers and I know what their impact is.

If you are truly curious about their impact and willing to spend the money if you like them, then do the trial and put aside your theories to explain what you do not understand and just see if you prefer the impact and if it makes the overall experience more enjoyable. You will know by the third day and for sure by day 7 and kicking yourself for not doing it sooner by day 10.

Joe Hakim (mountainjoe What’s Best Forum)

Ok, I’ve been busy with work, audiophile events, and what-not but now able to do some serious A/B/A/C/A comparisons of the CS footers.

In this case the footers in question are under my PS Audio DS DAC (running Huron FW) and they’ve now settled in for 3 weeks so I assume they’ve reached their peak performance or pretty close to it.

In the above sequence:

A = CS footers
B = stock feet on the DAC
C = Magico QPods (3)

I listened to Rickie Lee Jones CD (redbook) – I find this original CD was very well mastered and is a good reference for such comparisons.

I first listened to several tracks with the CS footers- having not touched them in 3 weeks. The sound was open, dynamic, with punchy, tight base, lots of air around the vocals and instruments, with an immersive soundstage.

The vocals in particular convey a sense of realism that I never knew my DAC was capable of.

I then removed the CS footers and let the DAC rest on its stock feet. I immediately noticed the soundstage shrank with most of the energy coming from between the speakers whereas with CS it was extended beyond my speakers – but also more evenly distributed in space (i.e. not squished between the speakers).

More notably, the imaging was more vague with instruments bleeding over into the dead space between (especially in the bass region) – i.e. there was less air between the instruments and less definition in the imaging. The bass was less articulate with noticeable bloom. And lastly the vocals lost that sense of realism and tonal correctness.

I then re-inserted the CS footers as close to their original locations as possible and everything came back as noted above. Lots of clear, open, air between the instruments, articulate bass, and very realistic vocals.

Next came the QPods – this was a bit easier to manage as they are taller than the CS footers so I left the CS footers in place and simply lifted the DAC and inserted the 3 QPods close to the 2 CS footers in the back and one in the center front.

The QPods provided a more “analog” sound to the DAC with more definition in the imaging than the stock feet, but not as good as the CS footers. Still noticed some blooming in the bass but better soundstage than the stock feet. If I hadn’t heard the CS footers, I would probably be happy with the sound of the QPods but the CS footers take my DAC to another level of realism, bass definition, and airy, open, immersive soundstage.

I then removed the QPods and let the DAC settle back onto the CS footers that were still in place. Again, the air, the bass, the immersive realism all came back.

Btw – Joe sent me a shim as I couldn’t get all four footers to make contact under my DAC so I used one of these under one of the footers. The shim is aluminum and 1/32” thick – it is placed under the footer where it contacts the shelf per Joe’s instructions.

As a final note, I have to say after listening to several albums in a variety of formats, the realism in the vocals brought out by the CS footers is sometimes startling. Closest I’ve heard digital playback come to sounding live. This is true of the instruments as well but most prominent in vocals imo.

I’m still letting the footers under my phono stage settle in and will report on those in a week or so.

For my DAC, the CS footers are by far the most significant upgrade I’ve made and easily worth the $1,200. Btw the three QPods are $900 for comparison – I will now be using these in my second system 😉